Monday Matters: Sheriff’s Department Looks Forward To Upgrade

Dispatchers, detectives and jail deputies in the Sebastian County Sheriff’s Office will all enjoy a much-needed modernization this fall, when the law-enforcement component of a $1.8 million computer upgrade goes live.

The Sheriff’s Office was placed first in line for the software installation, which promises full integration of functions within and across county departments. Next up will be the financial upgrade, intended to incorporate and unify functions of the county comptroller’s and treasurer’s offices. Finally, the courts system will bring the Fort Smith District Court into the system, which already links Greenwood District Court and Sebastian County Circuit Court. The courts system in turn will ultimately tie in with law enforcement.

Leslie Harris, the county’s IT director, said integrating the law-enforcement functions means bringing together three main components: CAD, or computer-aided dispatch; law enforcement records; and corrections.

“With the CAD system, dispatchers will be able to operate from a visual perspective. They’ll see very graphically where everything is,” Harris said. The system will incorporate a live map of the county that tracks incidents and deputies in the field in real time.

Chicago Chandler, communications and 911 supervisor for the Sheriff’s Office, said the new system will make dispatchers’ tasks much more quick and efficient. The current system, used by both the sheriff’s office and the courts, is neither visual nor easily searchable.

“If I want to find a unit in the field, here’s what I have to do,” Chandler said, pressing a button to scroll backward on her computer, page after page, until she finally spotted the data entry for the unit she was looking for.

Hollenbeck said the integration software will allow for the creation of a unified “package” that begins with a call to 911, links to related records, can be updated without redundancy and can be accessed by everyone who needs to see it.

“When a call comes in, the dispatchers start that package, with the name of the suspect, a description, the victim’s name, the location of the incident, what happened. All that is input, so when the deputy arrives at the scene, his report is already half-done,” he said.

If a dispatcher sees that a current suspect once assaulted an officer, the dispatcher can alert the deputy of a possible officer safety risk. When the deputy returns to write an incident report, the background information is already in the package and the deputy only has to add the narrative.

“As he puts in the information, say he arrests someone. Well on the corrections side, if (the suspect) was arrested six months ago, that information will come up,” Hollenbeck said.

Then when the jail receives a repeat offender, the booking clerk will see the person’s history and will only need to update the package.

Historical data will show up and become part of the package without redundant data entry or paperwork.

“It’ll help our whole office to become more efficient and more streamlined,” Hollenbeck said.

Capt. Chris Johnson, who oversees the Crime Investigation Division, said the system also will communicate with external databases such as the Arkansas Crime Information Center and the National Crime Information Center.

“Every type of data has a global jacket,” Johnson said. “People have jackets, guns have jackets, vehicles have jackets.”

If a suspect or weapon has a history, the jacket comes up and the new information is added.

One of the biggest improvements the new system promises is the ability to share “read only” access to case packages with the prosecutor’s office, which will save both paper and time.

“Before, we’ve always had to walk over and give the prosecuting attorney a case file,” Hollenbeck said.

Other upcoming developments include:

• Facial-recognition software, which would enable a deputy to photograph a prowler on his cell phone, send the picture to the jail and find out if the suspect has been arrested before.

• Software enabling “e-warrants,” so deputies can email affidavits to judges, and judges could review and sign warrants electronically. Hollenbeck said multiple warrants for arrests within the same area could be emailed all at once to law enforcement agencies in that area.

• Statistical data that will allow the office to research and identify crime trends.

Hollenbeck said implementation of the new system is very manpower-intensive and involves only seven people in his department now, including Chandler, Johnson and Jail Administrator John Devane. Not many others know what new capabilities are in store, but those who do are looking forward to the change.